Vice
by Stylin' Breeze
Summary: A series of moral scandals befalls Nekoma's volleyball club. But they're being set up.
1. Inuoka, Pt 1

**I wanted to write more Nekoma, so I asked a terrible question: what if the members of Nekoma were the victims of incredibly tasteless and illegal pranks that damage the team's reputation and ruin individual players' lives? Because I didn't want to write something happy apparently.**

 **This will be some dark, hard angst.** **The story _will_ have a happy ending however. (Not "happily ever after," but happy.)**

 **WARNING** **:** **mentions of internet porn in this chapter**

 **Without further ado, here's some undeserved Inuoka angst.**

* * *

Sou Inuoka bounded through his front door after finishing another day of practice, plopping his bookbag on the floor. Last week Nekoma secured a spot in nationals, and this week's practice had been intense even for the benchwarmers. After greeting his parents and younger siblings and getting a whiff of his mom's cooking, Sou proclaimed he'd check his computer before supper.

He zipped upstairs and sprang into the computer chair like he always did. Thumbing through some texts on his phone while the PC booted up, he set the mobile device aside once he was on the desktop and automatically opened his browser. He opened his favorites list and highlighted Facebook.

But he paused. His favorites list was longer than he remembered. About 30 entries longer, peculiarly. Every one of the unfamiliar saved links was not a website name but a cryptic URL with country codes he'd never heard of. Wracking his brain for when and why he would have visited any of these mysterious websites, he clicked one of the links.

His browser blinked and began to load the page. Sou was aghast when numerous nude men splattered across the screen.

Some of them weren't of age.

He reflexively closed his browser, his heart pounding and stomach churning. With great reluctance, he opened the web again and was superfluously relieved when his regular homepage opened.

He glanced over the favorites once more, anxiously skimming the IP addresses. He was too nervous to click another.

Sure, he wasn't that innocent. He'd looked up porn before.

But he never saved it.

And he never looked up _that_ before.

This was obviously some awful prank, but in the moment, Sou was so nervous about having any connection to the disturbing and technically illegal stuff that he started to delete each item from the list one-by-one. All the while his brain strained for who would have pulled off this terrible joke. His parents? Of course not. His siblings? They were 8 and 9! His teammates? They all just left practice, and no one could have beaten him home.

One of his friends outside the club? That had to be it. But if one of his buddies arrived when he wasn't here, his parents would have mentioned it when Sou got home.

And Sou didn't believe any of his friends would plant something like this.

After a nerve-racking two minutes, his favorites list was exactly the way he remembered it. Yet the shock of his earlier experience made him hesitant to even click the familiar Facebook link, and he instead went to type the address directly in the browser. As he started, his throat closed at the sight of all the same URLs in the dropdown of recently visited websites. Highlighting each one systematically, he pressed delete until they were gone.

Now he was too nervous to even try checking social media. He hoped to find some relief by searching the web for some answers and opened his favorite search engine. While contemplating how to phrase his exact question, he clicked on the search bar. His heart sank as a series of undesirably explicit search terms populated as "suggestions." He repeated his earlier process and systematically erased the evidence. Not satisfied, he went into the options and forced the search engine to wipe his entire search history clean.

By the end of it, Sou was officially done with the internet. He wanted to pretend this wasn't real, but saying it was a dream merely made his anxiety more tangible. He drooped in silence, running scenarios through his head that would explain the situation in a rational and innocent way.

Who was using his computer without his knowledge?

Who was looking up _that_ without his knowledge?

He shook his head to wipe his brain clear of the pointless questions. Instinctively he went to play some music to calm his nerves.

The evidence was gone. He could just pretend it never happened. Some weird network glitch. Yeah, that's it. A random fluke. Some computer virus did it maybe, and now that the links were gone, the virus whisked itself away, he baselessly asserted. There was no danger now. He could just go on.

When he opened his hard drive folder, he spotted a new folder in his saved files that he was positive wasn't there before:

"Private."

Sou was afraid to open it.

But he did anyway.

His eyes had barely focused on the five dozen thumbnails before he selected the entire folder and dragged it to the recycle bin.

"Sou, get down here!" his mom angrily screamed spontaneously, making the boy literally yelp in shock.

"Uh, in a minute!" he fretfully yelled back. Before he left the room, he would make sure all the stuff he knew of was gone. There might be some hiding elsewhere on the computer, but he'd turn off his machine and figure it out after dinner. He didn't know why his mom was so insistent tonight that he present himself, but this had to come first. He opened the recycle bin folder and prepared to purge it.

Then his bedroom door opened without warning. Panicking, Sou closed the bin without deleting its contents.

The boy was dumbfounded to see four strangers in dark suits file into the room, wearing armbands associating them with a government investigative bureau. All four adults—three men and a woman—wore dark sunglasses and solemn frowns. As soon as they entered, their attentions fixated on the teenager at the PC. One of the men signaled Sou to vacate his seat and proceeded to occupy it after the teen moved. Another man hunched over the first agent's shoulder.

Sou migrated warily to his bed, breathing heavily, staring uninterruptedly at the officer opening his browser: checking his favorites, search history, everything. He even opened Sou's Facebook page and briefly scrolled through it. Sou sensed the third man standing between him and the bedroom window, while the woman stood partially blocking the open door. His younger siblings began to peek through the threshold, but Sou's mom itinerantly ordered them to get away and come to her.

When Sou looked back at the screen, he saw the agent in the chair skimming his saved files.

Not satisfied, the cursor closed the window and then went to the recycle bin.

Sou jolted one arm out as if to stop the man but reeled it back in. What good would interfering do besides alert them to what he knew was there?

Even if it wasn't his.

Sou guiltily peered at the female agent who seemed to notice his arm reflex and was eyeing the boy from behind her sunglasses.

The agent at the desk moved the folder from the recycle bin to the desktop in order to view it. And then, with a double-click, he found what they were looking for.

"Got it," muttered the man leaning over the seated agent's shoulder. With a finger snap, he squarely approached Inuoka, towering fiercely over the now shivering teen. The seated agent inserted a USB drive into the PC.

If this was a practical joke, it was the least funny joke of all time.

"You are the only one who uses this computer, right?" the agent asked.

"Mhm," Sou nodded meekly, his reply barely audible, his cheeks red and forehead sweaty.

"You'll be coming with us."

* * *

 **Me, in disbelief I'm posting this: "What on earth am I doing? (post) Well, too late now."**

 **Let me know your thoughts, tears, hate mail, requests for clemency (Sou needs 'em; his teammates might need them too for future chapters), and whether or not you want to see more: one-shots, a full-length fic, or either. I'd like to see the person behind this get their due if you all do as well.**

 **~Breeze**


	2. Inuoka, Pt 2

**I spent much of this morning reworking my outline for this fic, and I now have a much more satisfying vision for it.** **Unfortunately it also meant I've been in a terrible angst mood all day, so in order to detox, here's chapter 2.**

 **Although this particular chapter is a continuation of Inuoka's story, it's decided that the first several chapters will be loosely connected one-shots. If I dive into this fic full force, the last "one-shot" will be an extended narrative of at least 7-8 chapters.**

 **And now, the team reacts to Inuoka's ordeal. (If you're hoping for things to get better, not today.)**

* * *

Neighbors with children who attended Nekoma High School were abuzz at the flurry of activity outside the Inuoka household. Some claimed to have seen the Inuokas' teenage son Sou removed in handcuffs. Others saw officers lugging out a full computer. Rumors spread quickly, soon becoming the talk among their sons and daughters at the academic institution.

Kuroo was the first to hear, via the older brother of one of Sou's classmates. He messaged Yaku. Yaku spread the news to the rest of the volleyball squad, starting with Tora who accused his senior of making a bad joke. Kai lived closest to Inuoka and paid a visit while police were still there. Sou's dad, understandably paranoid, refused to tell the lad anything.

Even so, the rumors began to coalesce into a whole, and a frightening picture of Sou's alleged sin emerged. The fact the suspect was part of the volleyball club that just placed in nationals was enough for media outlets to pick up the saga as well. The charge became public after Sou's parents paid bail, and now his teammates had their first chance to get in touch with him. Acting in part on the advice of legal counsel, Sou admitted nothing. But he denied nothing either.

Absent from class the following day, Inuoka missed practice as well. After getting dressed that afternoon, the whole team noticed the curious absence of not only the first-year but the coaches as well. Yaku, who had arrived first, pointed out he'd seen the assistant coach Naoi going in and out of the scorebox—a separate room used by announcers. Once everyone was warmed up, Manabu Naoi finally made his appearance when he marched into the gym.

"Kuroo!" he called. No one knew what was going on, but Tetsurou shrugged and followed the assistant coach into the scorebox.

He found himself in the small room with Head Coach Nekomata sitting with interlocked fingers behind a table. He gestured for Kuroo to have a seat in a chair opposite, which Tetsurou nervously did.

"What's the big deal?" the captain obnoxiously asked, though suspecting the reason already.

"Did you know about this?" Nekomata croaked.

"Know about what?" Kuroo said, playing dumb.

"I don't think I need to explain it."

"What do you think?" Kuroo pushed gently, insulted his coach would accuse him or anyone in the team of being involved in Sou's alleged transgression.

"I want to hear it from _your_ mouth," the head coach goaded. Kuroo slammed his fist on the table.

"Of course I didn't know about it!" he roared. Nekomata didn't react.

"That's all I need to hear. Naoi, bring Kozume next."

One-by-one, the club members were brought in for their private interrogation. For Nekomata, it was a matter of self-preservation. A member of the volleyball team that had just placed in nationals had suddenly become a stain on the school's reputation, so for the program's sake, Yasufumi Nekomata felt compelled to find out how deep the scandal went. Even so, he was honestly not expecting to learn anything as each club member from the third-years down to the newest members disclaimed knowledge of anything. It was a modest comfort. Perhaps the matter would blow over. There were social expectations involved as well, but those would be handled in time. Inuoka just had to admit guilt and apologize, and then things could move on.

* * *

Sou returned to school two days later. He was patently avoided by half his classmates all day. The other half whispered to him asking if it was "true." Inuoka ignored the question every time but was barely restraining the urge to punch one of the inquisitors by afternoon. Like the day he found the ugly materials on his PC, he kept wishing it were a nightmare from which he could wake up.

He also kept wishing he had an actual explanation for why it was there in the first place.

Sou came last to the gym for practice. All activity ceased the moment he stepped through the door. Nekomata gave Naoi a nudge to change the mood, and the assistant coach called everyone to warmups.

Inuoka had hoped a normal day of practice would clear his mind, but instead easily correctable errors just made him angry at himself. During a break he marched off the court and gulped his water canteen. He noticed Fukunaga beside him sneaking a glance while he drank; Shouhei rapidly looked away once his glare was noticed. Yaku stood between them, his head tilted way back as he gulped his bottle, pupils staring skyward to not even risk making eye contact.

"I didn't do it," Inuoka muttered under his breath. Yaku glanced sidelong at the middle blocker.

"We didn't say anything," he complained. The response irked Inuoka.

"Yeah. And there's nothing _to_ say. I'm not gonna apologize. It's not mine, and everything people are saying isn't true!" The protest earned the attention of Kuroo, Kenma, and Lev. Yaku glared, unable to bury his skepticism: he genuinely wanted to believe Inuoka was clean, but he couldn't think of any other explanation for the situation.

Perhaps noticing Morisuke Yaku's expression and naturally always holding an opposing opinion from the libero, Tetsurou Kuroo sauntered to Sou and threw a friendly arm around his neck.

"Look. It's fine. It wouldn't matter even if you _did_ do it. We wouldn't think of you any differently." He winked playfully before his tone changed. "Actually…," Kuroo began suggestively. Something had been on his mind about the matter, and his next statement could put the middle blocker at ease and prove the team had his back.

But Lev Haiba, misreading the situation, interrupted.

"Yeah, it's cool with us. Be proud!"

Inuoka gawked at the Russian while Kuroo became mightily annoyed.

"I said it's not mine!" Inuoka reasserted, breaking free from Kuroo's embrace. Lev showed his palms defensively but kept his cool demeanor.

"I'm just saying it makes no difference. You're still the same old guy to us even if you are a perv."

"Lev, shut up," Kenma muttered; Kuroo wished the setter had spoken sooner. Sou bore his teeth furiously, eyes narrowing on the tall middle blocker.

"Dang it, I said I didn't do it!" He shoved Lev hard on the chest. It wasn't all of his might, but the budge was sudden enough that Lev lost his balance and completely thudded onto his butt. Naoi hopped to his feet, trying to decipher what had just happened, and Tora, Kai, and Shibayama now turned their attention to the escalating spat.

"That was your fault," Kenma remarked at Lev. The Russian stayed on the floor a few moments. He didn't hear Kenma, too focused on the kid who'd just pushed him down.

"Look! I'm trying to make you feel better!" he spat as he finally hopped up. Without warning he charged the other boy, seeking revenge. Sou grabbed his attacker, and they wrestled standing up.

Their teammates formed a circle around the brawl, Tora tastelessly rooting them on. Sou landed a punch on Lev's cheek, and the angry boy countered with a blow to Inuoka's gut, knocking the wind out of him. He coughed hard as Naoi shoved his way through the bystanders and grappled Lev before he could deliver a follow-up. Sou tried to rush his restrained foe only to be manhandled by Kuroo, Tora, and (ineffectually) Yaku. Kai and Fukunaga joined the assistant coach in immobilizing the belligerent Lev.

"Stop this at once!" bellowed Nekomata marching into the fray. The two boys settled instantly, and the people restraining them loosed their grips. "Get changed and go home," Yasufumi Nekomata broadcast. " _Both_ of you."

"Now look what you did," Lev spat and marched to the locker room. The various players dispersed, pretending nothing had happened. Inuoka plopped abjectly on the bench, waiting for Lev to vacate the locker room so he could go in there himself. Shibayama, the most frazzled from the fight, was third-to-last to return to practice, taking a cue from Yaku. Kuroo and Kenma stared at Inuoka the longest before both quietly resumed their routine.

Sou's head was spinning. Was this really happening?

What had just happened? He was being kicked out of practice.

Not for some wrong he did, but for defending himself. Defending his integrity.

The one place he thought he could feel safe and unjudged he was now being exiled from. And contrary to his hopes, with people like Lev around, it was not a safe place at all.

Why?

Why was this happening?

What had he done to deserve this?

Who had done it all?

He wanted to pulverize that guy, whoever it was.

And he also hoped Lev got his due as well.

* * *

 **Till my next angst mood I guess. (P.S. Next chapter will focus on a different character.)**


End file.
